Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship as defined by the Oxford Language dictionary, is “the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of making a profit.” [1]
It is often put on a pedestal and viewed as an easy career path to be financially stable — which may actually be farther away from the truth, depending on the demographic you approach. That being said, experienced business professionals who have vast experience within the traditional corporate setting who jump into the entrepreneurial ecosystem may experience success early on. This is due to their ability to leverage their relationships within their respective networks, having a broad perspective when pursuing new opportunities, and keeping themselves trending in emerging technologies/platforms.
According to Legalzoom, the average age for an Entrepreneur is 40. [2] This has not stopped my generation, Generation Y, from launching businesses. In fact, it has increased the number of businesses — take Clubhouse, for example. The trend will only continue to grow.
You might be thinking — yeah, this is all good information and background, but what are some practical tips to be considered as an “Entrepreneur”?
Although Entrepreneurship is considered “hip”, there are both benefits and drawbacks.
Benefits:
· Being your own boss: As an entrepreneur myself, I can tell you this is both a positive and a negative. Although this allows for greater flexibility, every chance that is spent on landing a potential client is lost opportunity on growing your business.
· Building your own team: Unlike working in a disciplined working environment, by being the “CEO” of a company, it allows that individual to select talent best suited for the goals of the company.
· Disrupting the traditional workflow: This is a phrase that for me, epitomizes Entrepreneurship at its core — there are no quotas, benchmarks, weekly meetings. It puts the Entrepreneur in full control of running their company, which forces the CEO to implement a strategy that works.
Drawbacks:
· Not a steady income: Though it may be cool to say you have your own company, in Entrepreneurial land, success isn’t always guaranteed. On the contrary, it comes down to a lifecycle of the company. Early on, it takes time to brand your company compared to that of an already established company.
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· Always staying current: Regardless of what type of role you have, it is always important to stay current and be at the forefront of emerging platforms. For example, for my company we are present on all major platforms. But recently I joined Clubhouse — an audio-based platform Social Media platform to explore the nuances from a professional/business development perspective.
To this end, it brings another dilemma to the entrepreneur — how many platforms are too much? In order to answer this question, it is important to learn more about the platform.
· “Wearing too many hats”: The biggest drawback by far is that when you are an Entrepreneur — you are simply not the “CEO” — but the “brand and brains of the company.” and every role in between.
Although there is not a “blueprint — type” approach, here are some tips to consider:
· Do a market-based case study to see if there is a demand for your product or service before forming your company.
· Reach out to a minimum of 50–100 companies, and pitch your business idea to decision makers within the company.
· Follow the concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as outlined by Eric Ries of “The Lean Startup”. This approach is the new business plan — although it is still a good idea to have a detailed plan.
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· Promote your company on Social Media & Cross Promote — make sure the messaging is attractive to that particular platform.
Entrepreneurship is not designed to be an easy journey — there will be hardships along the way — but just remember why you started the company, and use that as motivation.
Sources:
[1] Oxford Languages and Google — English | Oxford Languages (oup.com)
[2] 86 Key Entrepreneur Statistics for 2021 and Beyond | legalzoom.com
[3] Google Images, Business Life Cycle
[4] Google Images, Lean Startup
[5] Google Images, Minimum Valuable Product
Tej Yale is the Founder/CEO of ThinkImpact Inc, a Marketing Company based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. They offer Social Media Management, Content Management, Graphic Design, Event Promotion, Website Development, Marketing Consulting, Project Management, Business Support.
You can learn more at www.thinkimpact1st.com
